Claudius Amyand (surgeon) facts for kids

Claudius Amyand (born around 1680 – died July 6, 1740) was a famous French surgeon. He was the first person known to successfully remove an appendix through surgery. This operation is called an appendectomy.

Claudius was born in France. His family, who were Huguenots (French Protestants), had to leave France. They moved to England in 1685 because of a law change. They made their new home in London.

Becoming a Surgeon

Claudius Amyand became an English citizen in 1698. He chose to become a surgeon. He worked with the army during a big war called the War of the Spanish Succession.

In 1715, he became the main surgeon for King George I. He kept this important job when George II became king. He also led the Company of Barber-Surgeons, which was a group for surgeons.

Amyand was also the first main surgeon at Westminster Hospital. He helped start St George's Hospital and was its first main surgeon too. In 1716, he became a member of the Fellow of the Royal Society, a famous group for scientists.

Important Medical Work

Claudius Amyand was involved in some very important medical advances.

Fighting Smallpox

In 1722, he helped protect three children of the Prince and Princess of Wales from smallpox. Smallpox was a very dangerous disease back then. He did this by using a method called inoculation. This method was brought to England from Turkey by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. It was an early way to prevent diseases.

The First Appendix Surgery

On December 6, 1735, Amyand performed a groundbreaking surgery. He successfully removed an inflamed appendix from an 11-year-old boy named Hanvil Anderson. This was the first time an appendicectomy was recorded as successful.

The boy also had an inguinal hernia, which is when part of the intestine pushes through a weak spot in the stomach muscles. In this case, the appendix was inside the hernia. This specific condition is now known as an Amyand's hernia. Amyand wrote about this amazing operation for the Royal Society.

His Legacy

For a long time, Amyand's important work was forgotten. Other surgeons in the 1880s were trying to be the first to do an appendectomy. They didn't know Amyand had done it 150 years earlier!

It wasn't until the early 1900s that a researcher named John Blair Deaver found Amyand's records. This research finally gave Amyand the credit he deserved. He was a skilled surgeon who made a lasting mark on medical history.

Family

Claudius Amyand married Mary Rabache in 1717. They had nine children together:

• Claudius Amyand (1718–1774)
• Anne Amyand (1719–1766)
• Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet (1720–1766)
• Wilhelmina Amyand (1722–1744)
• Mary Amyand (1723–1724)
• Mary Catharine Amyand (1726–1771)
• Rev. Thomas Hans Amyand (1728–1762)
• Rachel Maria Amyand (1730–1753)
• Judith Amyand (born 1732)

The famous writer H. Rider Haggard was a descendant of Thomas Amyand.